Tye Tribbett - Stand Out Lyrics
Lyrics
[speaking: Tye Tribbett]
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him.
I see the enemy coming in like a flood in our houses, in our churches, in our families.
But what I don't see is the standard. People of God where's the standard at?
We in a war y'all. It's time to stand OUT!
[G.A.:]
It's about to go down. The battle has begun.
It's time for you to choose, whose side you gonna be on.
The devil is recruiting, temptin' every man.
But he's already defeated, all we have to do is stand.
No time for mixing light with the darkness.
Be black or be white, no more shades of gray.
Be separated, be holy, no matter what you do, don't bow.
And even if you stand alone, stand anyhow.
[CHORUS]
[Tye:] Rise up!
[G.A.:]
Rise up people, put on your strength.
There's a war going on and we will win.
Stand up and fight, let the kingdom prevail.
With power and might, we will stand out.
Stand out!
[G.A.:] Stand out!
Be not conformed to this world.
[G.A.:] Stand out!
Be transformed, renew your mind.
[G.A.:] Stand out!
Just like the three Hebrew boys,
[G.A.:] Stand out!
[G.A.:]
God is playin' it cool, don't wanna rub nobody the wrong way.
Almost like we're trying to fit in. Acting like we don't know the name.
It's time for us to stand out and go against the grain.
Forget tryin' to be down, let the world know you've been changed.
How you gonna be the praise leader? But you listen to R & B?
And hip-hop is on your ringtone. I'm trynna tell you God ain't pleased.
And since when did it become cool for you to live together unmarried?
Men with men?
Women with women?
I'm tellin you God ain't gon' have it.
[CHORUS]
[Tye:]
It's time to recognize.
The war it's in disguise.
No time for compromise.
Wake up open your eyes.
[together:] The devil is a LIE!
You must be hot or cold.
You can't blend in the crowd.
It's time for God's people ta -
[CHORUS]
[Tye:]
Let me hear your war cry!
[G.A.:]
Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!
[Tye:]
Let me hear your war cry!
[G.A.:]
Ooh! (Let's Stand Out!) Ooh! (Let's Stand Out!) Ooh!
[Tye:]
Little bit louder.
[G.A.:]
Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!
[Tye:]
One more time!
[G.A.:]
Ooh! (Cry out loud!) Ooh! (Stand out!) Ooh!
STAND OUT!
[Speaking: Tye Tribbett]
We in a war people of God.
You don't have to fight, all you gotta do is stand.
Make some noise G.A.!
Having done all to stand...
Now stand people of God!
If you gonna stand out with us... SCREAM!
Video
Tye Tribbett & G.A. - Stand Out (Live Video)
Meaning & Inspiration
I sat on the back porch this morning, the kind of stillness where you can hear the crickets winding down their business, and put on Tye Tribbett’s track. My hands aren’t what they used to be—knuckles swollen, skin like parchment paper—and I found myself tracing the frayed edges of an old hymnal I keep by the door.
"Having done all to stand... now stand."
That line hit me in the gut. When you’re young, "standing" sounds like something you do with your chest puffed out, ready for a fight, a show of vigor. But when you’ve been walking this road for forty years, you learn that standing is often the hardest, quietest work there is. It’s not about how loud you scream; it’s about what you do when your legs are shaking and the wind has been blowing against you for a decade. Paul wrote to the Ephesians about putting on the full armor, but he ended with that simple, heavy command: having done all, to stand.
There’s a tension in this song that keeps me honest. Tribbett is calling for a separation—"no more shades of gray"—and that’s a tough medicine. In the early days, I was quick to draw those lines, too. I wanted everything in high contrast, black and white, easy to categorize. But living through the fire? It complicates things. I’ve seen good men stumble and broken people find grace in places I didn’t think God would show up. Yet, there’s an ache in the lyrics that speaks to a real problem: we have become remarkably comfortable with blending in. We’ve learned to talk the talk in the pews and live like the world the other six days of the week, and we call it balance when it’s really just cowardice.
The song asks, "People of God, where's the standard at?" That isn't just a rhetorical jab. It’s a mirror. When the lights go out, when the salary is gone or the diagnosis comes back, or when your children turn away from what you taught them—are you still holding the standard? Or did you tuck it away in a drawer to avoid making a scene?
I think about the three Hebrew boys mentioned in the track. They weren't fighting with swords; they were just refusing to bow. That kind of static resistance is a lonely life. The world doesn't care if you go to church, so long as you do it quietly and don't make anyone feel uncomfortable. But to "stand out"? That costs something. It cost them the furnace, and it might cost us our reputation or our ease.
I’m left wondering if my own life has become too blurred, too smoothed over by the desire for a quiet existence. Listening to this, I don't feel like jumping around like I used to. I feel convicted. Maybe "standing" isn't about the noise at all. Maybe it’s just refusing to move when everything else is shifting around you. I suppose I’ll keep standing, even if I’m just a brittle thing in the dark, because there’s nothing else to do.